Sounds Like Justice
by DetLindSLAY2.0
Summary: Lindsay is attacked in her own apartment and Halstead finds himself the prime suspect in the attempted murder of his partner. What lengths will Intelligence go to in order to make things right?


**Author's Note:** Oh wow, um... this is embarrassing... I wrote another really long one-shot. Soooo, basically I wrote this story for my best friend's birthday. It was meant to be completely a Linstead fic, but as I kept going it turned out to basically be an episode of the show... so, yeah. I feel like the story sort of falls apart a bit toward the end because I was pressed for time, but I'll let you guys tell me what you think. I don't have much to say about it, other than what's written in the description. So... hope you leave some nice reviews! Let me know what you thought of it! Without further ado, here is "Sounds Like Justice".

(P.S. This story has two alternative titles: "Never See It Coming" and "Any Dark Hole". I just picked my favorite. Feel free to call this one whatever you'd like!)

* * *

It's late. Voight is in his office, with his doors closed, but he's about ready to head home. Just about everyone has clocked out except Erin. She's sitting in front of her desk, with her light on, trying to survive a mountain of paperwork. They closed a big case today- a little boy was beaten and left to die in an alleyway. Luckily, the little boy pulled through, and they caught the bad guy.

Well, Lindsay caught the bad guy. They chased him through a crowded shopping center where he took a woman hostage. Lindsay shot him dead, but not before he killed an innocent civilian. It was a tough day for everyone.

Jay walks in from the back, grabbing his jacket from his chair before walking up to Erin's desk.

"Hey, that was a clean shoot. You did good today." Jay smiles, proud of his girl.

"Thanks." She smiles back, still uneasy about the situation. Voight told her once that it gets easier, but she's not so sure it does.

"We're all heading to Molly's. Could use a drink after today. Wanna come?"

"Uhh…" Erin looks to the papers on her desk. It seems endless. "Rain check? I'm drowning in paperwork."

Jay grins, but with disappointment. Regardless, he understands. "Right. Okay, rain check." He turns to walk away.

"You know what?" Erin stops him. He turns back. "Yeah, I will come. I'll meet you guys there a bit later."

"You sure?" He asks.

"Yeah." She smiles. "I'll make it work. Just give me an hour or so." The department might not be too thrilled with it, but she plans to get the paperwork done. It's been a long day, after all.

"Okay. I'll see you later then." He smiles, turning back again.

"Hey." She stops him once more. And once more he turns back to her. "I sorta like you, you know that?" She grins.

"I'm kinda warming up to you too." He grins back. "I'll see ya."

"Bye." She chuckles. With that, he finally leaves.

* * *

Jay takes yet another swig of his drink, trying not to laugh from something that Kevin is saying- a rib at Adam, no doubt. He puts down his drink and checks his phone—10:15. It's been nearly an hour and a half since they all left the district.

"Jay, any word from Lindsay?" Ruzek asks.

"Nah, not yet. She's probably still doing paperwork."

Probably. Either way, he gets up to call her, trying to drown out the noise that is the firefighter/police/doctor (probably lawyer) bar.

It rings a few times… Voicemail.

"Hey babe. Uh, I assume you're still doing paperwork. Let me know if you'll be able to make it over tonight. If not, I guess I'll see you at home. Don't work too hard, okay? Love you. Bye." He hangs up and goes back to the gang where Otis is behind the bar saying something ridiculous about something or other; no one really cares.

But the night drags on. Eleven. Twelve. Twelve-thirty. One AM. Jay checks his phone- no new messages. He sighs. She probably went home and fell asleep, he thought. She's had a rough day after all.

"Alright—" Jay says, getting up from his seat. "I gotta get home. You two idiots, take a cab. An Uber, a Lyft, something, please; you're a mess." He says, pointing to Adam and Kevin. Jay hasn't had a drink for a good hour or so. He's sober enough to drive home.

"Yeah, yeah, Captain Buzzkill." Adam jokes.

"Nah, it's _Detective_ Buzzkill." Kevin jokes back. They're the only ones laughing.

"Goodnight." Jay smirks, as he heads out of the bar.

The cool air hits him as he steps outside. It's not quite cold out yet, but the Chicago heatwave is officially over. This is something he can be grateful for. He takes it in for a moment, the cool breeze and the calming environment of a sleeping city. He finds himself standing there for quite a while, he's lost track of time now, but he's tired too. He's ready to go to sleep for seven years. So he heads to his car and drives home.

* * *

As he pulls around the corner, a blinding light flashes in front of his eyes- a light he knows all too well. Police lights, accompanied by an ambulance siren. He panics, pulling up on the corner and jumping out his car. He rushes up; uniformed officers surrounding the front of their apartment building. He flashes his badge and runs up the stairs.

He makes his way to the third floor, bounding over several steps to get there. Worry and fear have now overtaken him. He gets there to find three patrol officers outside of the door. They try to stop him, but he rushes past them and goes inside to find that their apartment has been destroyed.

Witnessing the sight, Jay's blood runs cold, because just behind their overturned couch, Erin lies on the floor- unconscious, beaten and bloodied. Brett is putting an oxygen mask on her, about to put her on the gurney and rush her to Med.

"Oh my God, Erin!" Jay says, in complete terror. He rushes over to see if she's okay. "Sylvie, what happened?" He asks, his voice shaking. Brett looks to him with worry on her face. Before she can answer, a woman standing in the kitchen steps forward.

"There he is, officers! That's him!" She shouts.

Jay looks to her, confused. "Dana?" She's their next door neighbor. She knows Jay, but… right now, she seems afraid of him. Before anything else happens, Jay finds himself being lifted up and pushed against the wall by two patrolmen.

"Hands behind your back!" One officer yells.

"What the hell?" Jay blurts. As one officer begins patting Jay down, the other pushes his neck against the wall, hard.

"You're under arrest for aggravated assault and the attempted murder of a Chicago police officer." One patrolman says. The other officer begins handcuffing him.

"What?!" Jay yells.

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything—" The officer begins.

"I didn't do this!" He yells again.

"Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law—" The officer continues.

"No, I didn't do this!" He yells once more. "Sylvie!" He calls attention to his friend. "Sylvie I didn't do this!" Brett has Erin on the gurney and is wheeling her out of the apartment. She believes him, but she's not allowed to say anything to him. She wheels Erin past him, still unconscious and horribly beaten. Jay catches sight of her face as she's being taken away. "Erin… Erin, it's gonna be okay, alright? It's gonna be okay…" He trails off, tears welling in his eyes. Now handcuffed, the officer forcefully drags Jay and leads him out of the apartment.

* * *

After about an hour, Jay is sitting in a holding cell all by his lonesome at the 9th district. He's not worried about himself or how he got there; he's just thinking about how Erin is doing. He can't get her face out of his head. After a while, he hears the door open and a pair of footsteps come his way. Suddenly he hears a familiar voice.

"You must've lost your mind." It's Olinsky. He doesn't sound too happy with someone. He and the arresting officer round the corner and come face to face with Jay, who is ready to pass out from exhaustion- of course he hasn't slept. Jay jumps from his seat and rushes up to the bars.

"Al, I didn't do this. I swear." Jay pleads with him, his hands wrapped around the bars, dying to get out.

"I know you didn't, kid." Alvin turns to the officer. "Get him out of there." The officer hesitates. "Now!" He demands. The officer complies and unlocks the cell for Jay. Jay gets out as fast as he can.

"How is she? Is she okay?" Jay asks frantically.

"She's at Med right now. She's in surgery." He says, surprisingly calm.

"Surgery?!"

"Hey, hey. Jay, relax. They're gonna take care of her, alright? Right now, I gotta bring you back to the 21st."

"No, Al, I need to be at Med, I need to be with her." Jay tries to pass him, but Olinsky won't let him go by.

"Burgess and Tay are with her. Jay…" He tries to reel Jay back in. "I know this is tough, but I need you to keep your head on straight right now, okay?"

"Where's Voight?" Jay asks, trying not to imagine the horror and rage that this would ignite in him.

"He's on his way to the 21st… Come on." Alvin leads Jay out of the room, a comforting hand on his shoulder. It's exactly what he needs right now.

* * *

Back at 21, everyone is tired; no doubt sobered up at this point. It's still early. Too early. Everyone is at their desks, except for Erin of course. The eerie emptiness of her desk is a painful reminder to everyone of what has just happened.

Erin's picture is up on the board. They stand in silence, trying to process how something like this could happen to one of their own. Voight walks up the stairs, silent… composed. A frightening sight no doubt. The group is too afraid to talk. Everyone has their eyes on him, and on Jay; trying to understand why he was being blamed for this, maybe deep, deep down inside, wondering if he really is guilty. Voight walks to the front of the room.

Mouse is the first to pipe up. "So, I just heard from Med. Lindsay is out of surgery. She's still unconscious, but they say it went well. They're just waiting for her to wake up now."

"What do we know?" Voight asks, finally breaking his silence, likely a little calmer now than he was before. Everyone is still worried that the wrong thing may make Voight implode, so they choose their words very carefully.

Antonio walks up and puts a photo up on the board. "Dana Williams."

"You know her?" Olinsky asks, looking to Jay.

"She lives in the apartment building; she's our neighbor." Jay says, wanting nothing more than to just get to Med and be with Erin when she wakes up. Of course he wants to help, but he's not sure how much help he can really be here.

Antonio continues. "She told police she woke up around one in the morning to fighting coming from down the hall. Heard a man yelling and some gunshots went off. About ten minutes after the yelling stopped, she said she looked outside to see what happened, when she saw a man leaving the apartment. She called 911 when she found Lindsay."

"She give us a description?" Adam asks.

"She only saw him from the back, but she's sure that he was a white male, around six foot, with brown hair and a leather jacket." Antonio answers. Everyone tries not to look to Jay.

"Did she explain why she told the officers on the scene that it was Jay who attacked her?" Voight asks, his arms crossed, still surprisingly casual under the circumstances.

"Erin was in and out of consciousness after the attacker left. Dana asked her if she knew who did it… she says she told her it was Jay." Antonio shrugs, not sure what to believe.

"No." Jay says, fuming at this point. "No, there's no way."

"Jay—" Voight starts.

"No, Voight, I didn't do this." Jay says, defending himself.

"No one here thinks that you did." Voight says, assuredly. "This Dana, she got some kind of beef with you?"

"No." Jay says.

"No?" Voight asks, to be sure.

"No. We barely know each other."

"She know you're a cop?"

"Yeah."

"Does she have some sort of grudge against the police?"

"I don't know."

Adam decides to chime in. "Look, Sarge, we don't know that Dana's trying to frame Jay. Maybe Lindsay was just thinking Jay would be there, you know? She was probably out of it."

"Did you see her any time after work, before the attack?" Voight asks.

"No. I went to Molly's with everyone else, and then I went home to find patrol units all over our place." Jay explains.

"What time did you leave?"

"I don't know, around one."

"And you didn't get to the scene until almost two?" Voight asks, a little suspicion arising.

Before Jay can explain- "Don't say another word." A man in a suit says, coming up the stairs, accompanied by Platt and Commander Crowley. The man is Dan Hanes, Jay's FOP rep (so suggested by Erin back when they first met). "Detectives," he greets them. "We're done here."

"Dan, I didn't do anything; I'm innocent." Jay says, surprised to see him there.

"That's up to a jury to decide. You need to keep quiet and come with me now." He says.

"Commander-" Voight tries to get her to budge.

"You heard the man, Sergeant." Commander Crowley says.

Jay stands there in shock. He looks to everyone else in the room; they all seem a bit skeptical. They don't know what to say. "I don't believe this." He turns to the Commander. "You think I did this?"

"Detective." Crowley says, sternly. "I think it's best that you go with your FOP rep."

Jay looks to Voight. "Go ahead." Voight says, somehow assuring him that he'd take care of things. Angry as he was, Jay trusted Voight to figure things out. It was Erin who was hurt, after all. So Jay followed his rep out.

"Sergeant." The commander starts. "You mind if we speak in your office for a moment?"

"Anything you need to tell me, you can say in front of my unit."

"Hank." Platt warns him.

"Trudy." Voight says in response, not willing to back down.

Crowley doesn't appreciate her authority being tested, but she doesn't push the issue further. "It's never a good day when I have to come down here at three in the morning." The commander says, standing in the middle of the group. "But to hear that one of our own was attacked; it's unacceptable. And I need to do what is best for our city. You understand this, Sergeant. "

"You're not taking us off the case." Voight says, in his typical pissed off voice.

"I'm not saying that. Intelligence is the best shot we have of finding who did this, and I want you taking the lead. But right now, Detective Halstead is the prime suspect in this case, and I can't have him involved."

"Commander—"

"This is not open for discussion. Until Detective Halstead is cleared from suspicion, he is to surrender his badge and you are not to give him any details regarding the case. And if I find out otherwise, it'll be more than this case that I'll be taking away from you." Commander Crowley ends the conversation there, as she heads back down the stairs.

Platt remains there, hoping to ease the situation. "Hank, we'll get this figured out."

"Halstead didn't do it." Voight says, defending him.

"I know that. But right now, he's got a thin alibi, and the only eye witness we have positively ID'd him. It doesn't look good, Hank. Just figure this out before it goes to trial." Platt understands the gravity of the situation and decides to leave Intelligence to go over the evidence that they have- which is almost nothing.

"It's alright." Antonio says, trying to calm everyone's nerves. "As soon as Lindsay wakes up, she can clear Jay of this, and we'll get a better idea of what happened."

"Right." Voight says. "In the meantime, I want everyone to put word out to their CIs. Ruzek, Atwater, I want you at the scene. See if there are any other witnesses. Let me know what else you find."

"You got it boss." Ruzek says, grabbing his jacket.

"Antonio, you talk to Dana Williams again. Triple check her story for holes. You drill her on that ID." Antonio complies, grabbing his jacket as well. "One more thing." Voight stops the group before they leave. He takes a step forward. "Someone came after us. One of our own. And I wanna find out who. So, make no mistake… We go down any dark hole we have to, to catch this guy." He looks to the team, to make sure they understand. "Beat it." He tells them. They go, leaving just Voight and Olinsky behind. Voight looks to Erin's desk and sighs. He heads into his office, and Olinsky follows

"You alright?" Alvin asks.

Voight puts his hand to his face, flustered. "Al, I don't know how I let this happen."

"You know there wasn't anything you could've done. She'll make it through. We all will." Voight sighs. He knows Alvin is right but he can't help feel responsible for what happened. All he's ever wanted is to protect Erin. He can't help but get emotional. "Hank, when we catch the bastard… I'm there with whatever you need from me."

"That means a lot, Al. But this time around, I don't know if I can ask that of you."

"You don't need to ask." Olinsky says. "It's family". It doesn't matter what Voight says, he's right. Someone came after their family. Olinsky wants justice as much as everyone else.

* * *

Jay sits in a briefing room, across the table from his FOP rep. He looks to his papers in silence. Jay is frustrated and impatient.

"Is this gonna take long?" He asks, irritated, his arms folded. "I need to get to Med."

"I understand that. But right now, it's important that we go over your story." Dan says, still looking through his papers.

Jay sits up, leaning over the table a bit. "There isn't a story. There's what happened, and what didn't happen. And I didn't do it. That's it."

"Jay, the longer this takes, the worse this is going to get for you. And this attitude certainly isn't going to help you."

"Oh, are you helping me?" Jay scoffs.

"Jay—"

He stands up in anger. "No. You know what, you want to help me? You tell IA exactly what I told you and if they have a problem with that, they can come find me. I'm done here."

Without a second thought, Jay leaves the room, much to the dismay of his union rep.

* * *

Adam and Kevin get to Erin's apartment to find patrol officers still hanging around. They flash their badges.

"It's alright gents," Adam says, patting one guy on the chest. "We can take it from here."

When they get inside, they're quick to notice the destruction before them. The bookshelf at the entrance is knocked over, there's broken glass on the floor from what could've been a cup or a vase; it's as if a tornado came through.

"Damn." Atwater says, taking his first step inside. "They really tore this place up."

"Yeah. Looks like Lindsay didn't go down without a fight."

"No doubt."

Adam makes his way over to the couch, where the fight ended. "I don't know how she made it out of this." He says, feeling a bit uneasy at the sight of her blood, now stained into the carpet.

Kevin notices something near the wall by Erin's bedroom. "You see that?" He asks, pointing. He and Adam make their way over, inspecting the area. "Are those scratch marks?" He asks, pointing out the scratches at the bottom of the wall… likely from where Erin was being dragged.

Adam sighs. "What the hell did he do to her?"

"Let's check the bedroom." Kevin says, making his way in. Nothing looks too disrupted in there. Kevin looks around in the closet, while Adam looks on Erin's dresser. He picks up her wallet and looks inside.

"Well, doesn't look like anything's missing. No money, no personal effects, nothing."

"So, this wasn't a robbery."

"I don't think it was meant to be a murder either."

"Sounds like he wanted to send a message."

"To who?" They look to each other, unsure of what to think.

"Detectives!" An officer shouts from the living room. Adam and Kevin head back to the front room. The officer holds up a pen with a shell casing sitting on the end. "We got ballistics."

"Looks like a 9 mil." Atwater says.

"Let's just hope it came from the perp." Adam says. "You mind bagging that for us?" He asks the officer; he complies. "Thanks." Adam grabs the baggie from him.

* * *

Jay rushes into the ED, frantically wondering how Erin is doing. As he rushes in, he finds exactly who he was hoping to see.

"Will!" Jay says out of breath, trying to get his attention. He rushes to his brother as fast as he can. "Will, Will, how is she?"

"She's doing okay. She's in recovery right now." Will tries to calm him down, seeing the state he is in, by explaining what happened. "She had increased intracranial pressure. They took her into surgery to get the swelling down. Aside from that, she's got bruising and contusions throughout her body, and what looks like a knife wound on her right forearm."

"But she's okay?"

"Under the circumstances, yeah. We're just waiting for her to wake up now. See if there was any significant damage to the brain. But I think we got to her in time."

"Thank God." Jay breathes a sigh of relief.

"Hey…" Will pulls his brother aside, his volume brought to a whisper. "Did I hear right? They think it was you?"

Jay lets out a puff of air. "Yeah, it seems that way."

"Why?"

"I don't know… that's what we're trying to figure out."

"Well, she's upstairs if you want to wait for her to wake up. She's in room 318."

"Thanks, man." Jay starts to head that way, but Will pulls him back.

"Hey… let me know when you catch the son of a bitch."

Jay nods his head, he can't even imagine what he might be capable of when he does catch him.

* * *

"I already told you everything I know. I need to get back home to my kids." Dana Williams says, frustrated with the situation. It's nearly five AM now.

"I understand that, but I need to make sure that your story is solid." Antonio says

"You think I'm lying to you?" She says, getting agitated.

"Look…" Antonio leans in. "I'm not gonna sugar-coat this. One of our officers was attacked. You're the only witness that we have right now, and an innocent man is being pegged for this. I just need you to absolutely sure of everything you're saying to me."

"I am. I'm telling the truth." She says, crossing her arms, fed-up with the whole thing at this point. "I woke up to the yelling and I was worried for my kids' safety. So I waited until the fighting stopped to peek outside. When I looked, I saw him leaving—"

"But are you absolutely sure you saw him, Dana?"

"I'm saying it _looked_ like him. I only saw him from behind. But when I went to check on her and called 911, I asked her who attacked her and she said his name."

"Whose name?" He asks, trying to get her story to falter.

" _Detective Halstead_." She says, with attitude now. "She said the name 'Jay'." Antonio sits back, frustrated. "Look, I know that's not what you want me to say. You cops are always looking out for your own… but understand something—no one is immune to domestic abuse. You never see it coming. And that man… I know about his temper." Antonio looks to Dana, trying to process what she was saying. She really believes he's guilty.

* * *

Jay comes out of the elevator, looking for room 318. When he spots Burgess and Tay standing by the door, he knows he's in the right place. He breathes a sigh of relief, but as he heads over, he is stopped by another patrolman. Jay shows him his badge.

"It's alright. CPD." Jay says. The officer does not let him through.

"I can't let you in there." The patrolman says.

"Are you serious?" Jay asks, annoyed. The patrolman doesn't respond. Jay tries to go around him, but the patrolman and another officer stop him. He looks to Kim. "Burgess, come on."

"I'm sorry, Jay. I can't."

"What are you talking about?"

"We're not allowed to let you in here."

"Are you kidding me right now?" Jay says, agitated, stepping forward. The officer stops him again, and Jay jerks away from him. "Get your hands off me." He looks back to Kim. "Does Voight know about this?" He asks.

"He's the one who authorized it." Burgess responds.

"What?" Jay says, in disbelief.

"I'm sorry, Jay. We're just following orders." Burgess says, feeling really badly for him.

"We can let you know as soon as she wakes up." Tay says, not really knowing what to say to make the situation better.

"I don't believe this." Jay scoffs, walking away.

* * *

"We gotta get this info over to Voight." Adam says, walking down the steps toward the car.

"Hey, five-o!" A young boy calls from across the street. He couldn't be more than ten or eleven years old. He's watching the scene, on his bike.

Adam and Kevin turn their attention to him, and they cross the street. "Aren't you a little young to be up this early, kid?" Adam asks. The sun is just barely coming up over the horizon now.

"Ain't you a little old to be wearing them pants?" The boy asks, snarky.

"I tried to tell him." Atwater jests.

"I heard about that reward. For that lady cop."

Adam leans in. "What's up, kid? You know something?"

"I might." He shrugs.

Atwater reaches in his pocket and pulls out a hundred dollar bill. "Hey, little homie. It'd mean a lot to us if you helped us out."

"You think Imma snitch over a c-note?"

"That's on top of the 20K you'll get if your intel pans out." Atwater says, trying to convince him.

"Call it a down-payment." Adam says, knowing he'd take the bait now.

The young boy doesn't hesitate. He grabs the money and puts it in his pocket. "White dude came busting outta there a few hours ago. He came out around the back. Got a bad cut on his head. Look like he got shot in the leg too. He tossed a knife in that trash over there—" Adam rushes to the trashcan near them and puts on a glove before searching around. "Then he hopped in some car and took off."

"Was he driving the car?" Atwater asks.

"I don't think so. He got in the other side." The boy says.

"Do you remember what the car looked like?"

"It was dark out. Hard to tell what color it was. But it had lights on the grill. I remember thinking that was weird."

Atwater takes his phone out and pulls up a picture of Jay. "Was this the guy you saw?" He asks the boy.

"Nah. He was definitely older than that."

"Thanks kid. You were a big help."

"When do I get my 20Gs?"

"You come down to the 21st district later today, talk to Sergeant Platt, tell her you're looking for Detective Atwater. If this leads to anything I'll hook you up." The boy smiles. He's never had something like this happen to him. "Get on outta here now." The boy complies, no doubt counting down the hours to his reward.

"Well, well. What do we have here?" Adam says, pulling out a bloody knife from the trash can. It isn't any regular kitchen knife. It has a wooden handle, with a black blade. It looks more like a hunting knife. Adam flips it over to find the initials A.P.M on the handle.

"Finally, we catching a break." Adam pulls out a baggie and seals the knife inside. "Kid said he saw lights on the grill of the car. Sound familiar?" Adam looks at Atwater, nervous to hear what he had to say.

* * *

"We need to talk." Jay says, storming into Voight's office. He shuts the door, firmly and puts his hands on his hips, agitated.

"Actually, we do." Voight says, getting up from his chair. "Look, I'm sorry to say this Jay, but I'm gonna need your badge." He says, holding out his hand.

Jay pauses. "You're not serious."

"It's not my call."

"Right. Right, it's the department." Jay says, irritated, handing him his badge.

"Look, I know how you're feeling Jay. But you can't be involved in this case, and I think you understand why."

"Don't-don't do that. Don't patronize me."

"Jay—" Voight steps closer to Jay, almost unable to fight back with him. Of all people, he doesn't have the strength to get angry at him right now. "Crowley's got us on a tight leash right now, and if we wanna solve this case, we gotta do things by the book. I know that's not what you wanna hear right now, but it's what we have to do. I'm sorry."

Jay looks down, the frustration on his face is now overcome with grief. He looks back to Voight, trying to maintain composure. "I just feel like every step I take, people are judging me- accusing me of something I didn't do. Voight, I would never do this."

"I know that. But to be honest, Jay, you're not exactly helping yourself. And you're right, you've got eyes on you. And this temper of yours is the reason Dana's ID is sticking right now." Jay sighs, knowing he lets his temper get the better of him sometimes. "I wanna find this bastard just as badly as you do. But to do that, I need you to be straight with me." Jay nods, in a much calmer state now. "Now, you told me you left Molly's at one, but you didn't get to Erin's until almost two. Is there anything you haven't mentioned that I need to know?"

"No. I left the bar at one. I was outside, just getting some fresh air and I lost track of time. That's it."

"For an hour?" Voight asks, to clarify.

"I-I guess? I don't know. I went straight from Molly's to the apartment, and I found her there. If I was there before, I would've—"

"Don't do that." Voight tells him. "This isn't on you."

"I wish that were true. I could've stopped it. If I had just gone straight home…" Jay tries to erase the memory from his mind, completely stricken with grief. Voight places a hand on his shoulder, for support.

"Hey… We're gonna get him, Jay."

Mouse knocks before quickly opening the door. He peeks his head in. "Lindsay's awake." He simply says. Jay and Voight look to each other before grabbing their jackets and rushing out.

* * *

Officer Tay opens the door to Erin's room, allowing Voight and Jay to go in. Burgess is already at Erin's side, but stands when she sees the two men come in. Jay and Voight take note of Erin's condition. She's cleaned up, but she still doesn't look good. Her forearm is completely wrapped in bandages, she has an IV in, as well as an oxygen tube, and her head is wrapped in bandage as well. Not to mention, the bruises on her arms, neck, and eye. It's just as painful to look at her as it is to be her right now.

"I'll give you guys a minute." Burgess says politely before leaving the room.

Jay quickly goes to Erin's side, holding her hand. Voight is close behind him. "Hey." Jay says in a low tone. "Are you okay?" Jay asks.

"How you feeling kiddo?" Voight asks in quick succession.

"My head hurts…" Are about the only words that can escape from Erin's mouth. Voight gently puts his hand on her head, as a father would, comforting his daughter.

"Do you remember what happened?" Jay asks her. Erin shakes her head.

"Someone got the jump on you, kid." Voight answers her.

"Did you get him?" She asks, faintly, looking to Voight.

"Not yet." He responds with a frown.

"You don't remember anything about what happened?" Jay asks, compassion etched into his face.

"I…" Erin tries to recall that events of the night. "I remember you asking me to come to Molly's… and I had to go home to get my wallet…" From there, the memory is fuzzy. "I… I left my wallet at home. I… I shouldn't have…" Erin's breathing starts to pick up in a panic.

Voight reaches over and grabs Erin's shoulder. "Hey… it's alright."

"How'd he get in?" Erin asks Voight, hoping for some answers.

"We're still trying to figure that out."

"Do you have anything yet?" She asks, looking to both Voight and Jay, with tears welling in her eyes.

Voight almost doesn't want to answer her. Before he can, his phone starts to vibrate. He pulls out his phone and sees Olinsky is calling. He turns away from Erin and Jay to answer him.

"Al. What's up?" After a moment, he turns back. "Alright, I'm on my way." He hangs up and walks back to Erin, placing a hand on her cheek, with a smile. "I gotta head back to the district." He says in a much softer voice. He looks to Jay. "Halstead… you got her?"

"Of course." Jay nods, his hand still holding Erin's.

Voight brushes his hand on Erin's cheek. "Rest up, okay?" He smiles. She forces a smile back at him before he takes off.

* * *

"What do we got?" Voight asks, heading up the stairs.

"Well, turns out the shell casing at the scene came from Lindsay's gun." Adam says, leaning against the edge of his desk.

"So we're back to square one?" Voight asks.

"Not exactly." Adam answers. "The kid from across the street said it looked like the perp was shot in the leg, so we put out an alert to all hospitals and clinics in the area to see if anyone came in for treatment."

"Guy got shot in the leg, but there was no DNA at the scene?" Voight asks.

"Dana said the offender left ten minutes after the attack. He was probably trying to get rid of evidence. Crime lab is still looking for any DNA he may have left." Adam answers. "But, even better than the shell casing, we got a partial on the knife we found in the trash across the street."

As Voight approaches the board, Antonio puts up a picture right next to the photo of the knife. "Adrian Palmer Morrison."

"A.P.M." Atwater says, referring to the initials imprinted on the back of the knife handle.

Antonio continues. "Morrison works for an E-Commerce company called Success where he teaches people how to market their own businesses. Makes a fortune off of holding conferences and telling people how they can make 100K in three months."

"Any priors?" Voight asks.

"Nada." Antonio says. "Nothing popped when we put him in the database, not even a speeding ticket."

"How does a guy like that go from having no priors to assaulting a cop and leaving her for dead?" Voight asks, memorizing every detail on Morrison's face.

"There's one more thing, boss." Adam says, sitting up from his desk. "We don't think this was a random attack. There was no sign of forced entry at the apartment, nothing was missing from her wallet..." Adam turns to Kevin, hoping Voight doesn't get too upset by the news. "We're thinking that this was personal… and that maybe she knew her attacker."

"We're wondering if there's anyone in Lindsay's past that might've been capable of something like this." Antonio says, knowing he's stepping on eggshells.

Voight isn't quick to respond. He knows they have a point, but it's not something he wants to discuss with them right now. The team start to worry a little about how he might react. "We work with the evidence we have. Me and Al will pick up Morrison. The rest of you, follow up with CSU on anything else they find." He turns to Olinsky. "Let's roll out."

Before he can leave, Adam stops him. "Hey boss?" Voight turns back to him, eager to pick up Adrian Morrison. "How is Lindsay doing?"

"She's fine." He answers bluntly, before quickly walking away. The rest of the team worry they just set Voight off before picking up their prime suspect.

* * *

Voight pulls up to a fancy building in the financial district. He turns off the car, and unbuckles his seat belt. "Let's go." Voight says to Olinsky, who is sitting in the passenger seat. Olinsky stops him from opening the door.

"Hank. I think it's time we start working some other leads… off the record." Voight sighs. "The kid's right. There's a lot of people in her past that would want to hurt her. Hurt you. You know, maybe that's the angle we need to be looking at."

"Let's just focus on Adrian Morrison right now." Voight says, opening the door, trying to avoid the discussion.

They both get out of the car and head into the building, flashing their badges at the front security officers. They walk into a room with a large audience, watching Adrian Morrison on stage. He's presenting something to the crowd. "So you see, the difference between your Q1 and Q2 reports when you get started with Success has the potential to be increased by 48%."

"Adrian Morrison." Voight says, approaching him at lightning speed.

"Can I help you, gentlemen?" He says with a nervous grin.

"You're under arrest."

"Excuse me?!" Adrian says.

"Turn around." Olinsky orders. He complies. The crowd is stunned. Olinsky looks to the large audience before him. "This the man you wanna take business advice from?" No one knows what to think. Voight and Olinsky usher him off the stage.

* * *

"I don't have to say anything to you until my lawyer arrives. I know my rights." Adrian says, now sitting handcuffed in the interrogation room back at 21. "And you still haven't even told me what I'm being charged for."

"We think you know." Olinsky says in that calm, yet unnerving tone.

"I don't actually." Adrian says with an attitude.

Voight slams a folder down on the table, startling Adrian. He's clean cut, and easily frightened by Voight's presence. He opens the folder, revealing pictures of Erin, beaten. Adrian is horrified by the sight, but tries not to show it. "You wanna try again?" Voight asks.

"What, you think I did that? I've never seen that woman before in my life."

"Wrong answer." Voight says, quickly reaching over and grabbing Adrian's face, pushing him against the wall, his chair tilted.

"This is police brutality!" Adrian shouts, terrified.

"File a complaint." Olinsky says, unwavering.

"I swear, I've never seen her before!"

"You beat her and left her to bleed out. Now you're sitting here with that smug look on your face…" Voight says, pushing further.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Adrian cries out, terror pulsating through him. "I swear!" Voight sees how frightened he is. He knows now that this can't be the guy who did it. He releases his grip on Adrian, and his chair tilts back onto four legs. Adrian gasps in fear, trying to catch his breath. "I swear on my life, I have no idea what you're talking about." He says, calmer now. "I would never hurt someone like that. Ever."

Olinsky and Voight don't know what to think. They look to each other. Olinsky pulls out the photo with the bloody knife, his initials exposed. "You recognize this?" He asks.

"Y-yeah, that's my hunting knife. My father gave it to me when I was a kid." Adrian says, analyzing the photo. "Wait, where did you get that?"

"This knife was used to attack one of our police officers last night."

"Wh… that's impossible."

"Where do you keep this?"

"In my garage. In a case with all my other hunting gear, but I never use it."

"We found your prints on it." Voight says, bluntly.

"Well, yeah, because it's mine."

"Your prints were the only one on it. That makes you look pretty guilty, Adrian." Olinsky tells him.

"Someone must have worn gloves or something, I don't know. Look, I swear on my life, this wasn't me."

"Anyone else have access to your hunting gear?"

"Just my brother, Ethan." Voight and Olinsky look to each other, having heard everything they needed to hear. They make their way out of the room. "Wait. Wait, no, Ethan had nothing to do with this. Hey! Hey!" He shouts for them to stop, but they don't listen. They leave him behind.

* * *

"Ethan Morrison." Antonio says, placing a new photo on the board. "Get this. He's a Narcotics Detective in the 15th district."

"No kidding." Voight says, with his arms crossed.

"That kid said he saw the car at the scene had lights on the grill. Sounds like an unmarked squad." Adam says, sitting up in his chair.

"Well, let's hope we're on to the right guy." Voight says, looking to the group.

"He's got a handful CRs for wrongful arrest, but that's pretty typical in the narcotics unit." Antonio says. "There's no complaints on record for excessive force, and he's never been suspended. I don't know if I peg him for this either."

"Can't be too careful." Voight says. "You and Atwater to go pick him up. I want answers."

* * *

Antonio makes his way up the stairs of the 15th station, Kevin following right behind him. They both approach the front desk, holding up their badges. The Desk Sergeant flashes a fake smile. "Detectives!" He greets them. "What can I help you with?" He sighs.

"Yeah, we're looking for Detective Morrison. Know where he is?" Antonio says, putting his badge away.

"I'm wondering the same thing myself." The Sergeant responds, shuffling papers from the front of his desk, to another worker in the back. "He didn't show up for shift today, never called in sick. No one's been able to reach his cell all morning."

"You got an address for him?" Atwater asks.

* * *

Antonio and Atwater, now accompanied by Ruzek and Olinsky get out of their cars and meet up in the middle of the street. Antonio leads the brigade. "Remember, this guy's a cop. He's gonna know our moves, and he's probably gonna be expecting us. We can't let him get the jump on us. It's four against one. Al, Ruzek, you two take the back in case he tries to run. Kevin, you're up front with me."

They all follow orders and head where they're told. As Antonio and Atwater stand by on the front porch, Adam radios in. "We're in position."

Antonio radios back. "We're gonna do a knock and talk. If he tries to run, be ready."

Antonio gestures to Kevin for him to knock. "Detective Morrison! Chicago PD!" He announces. There's no response. Antonio gives Kevin another gesture. He takes the door handle and slowly turns it. The door opens. Antonio nods.

"We're going in the front. Keep your eyes open." Antonio radios in to Ruzek and Olinsky.

"10-4" Olinsky responds.

Antonio and Atwater slowly make their way inside, trying not to make much noise. "Front room's clear." Antonio radios in.

"Living room's clear" Atwater says, making his way around the rest of the house.

"We're heading upstairs." Antonio radios.

"There's no movement outside." Adam radios back. Just as he says that, a shot is heard, and Adam falls to the floor.

Olinsky quickly notices a figure move in an upstairs window and he pulls his gun. He makes a few shots back before radioing to Antonio. "Shooter's in the upstairs bedroom!" Antonio and Atwater rush upstairs. He grabs Adam by the vest and pulls him to the corner of the house. "Are you alright, kid?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." He chokes. "He got me in the vest, I'm fine."

Back inside the house, Antonio bursts in the bedroom door, to find the window open, but no one there. Atwater notices an attic door and quickly pulls it down. He gestures upward and the two make their way up the ladder quickly. Just as Antonio turns his flashlight on, he finds himself hit in the face with some sort of metal object and he goes down hard. Atwater, right behind him, grabs the shooter and clocks him.

"Stay down!" Atwater shouts at him, his knee pressed into his back. They got him.

* * *

"You shouldn't be here." Erin whispers, groggy from the meds.

"I want to be here." Jay says, still sitting close by.

"You should be out there looking for him." She tells him, knowing he must want revenge.

"They're gonna get him, Erin. I want to be here with you." She knows she can't force him, so she drops the subject. "You did good, you know? You fought him hard."

"Did I? I didn't realize his skull was cracked open too."

"Stop." He says, knowing she's joking, but his heart can't handle it just yet. "I should've been there…" Jay trails off.

"Don't do that to yourself."

"I could've done something. I could've stopped him, Erin."

"Or it could've been you in this bed." She says, trying to get him to understand that he can't have control over everything. "You can't ask yourself why." He sighs, knowing she's right, but he can't help feel guilty for what happened. He looks at her tenderly, and grabs her hand.

"They think I did it." He admits to her.

"What?" She says, unable to comprehend what he was saying to her.

"They suspended me… because they think I put you here. They think I did this."

"That's… that's insane. Why would they-?"

"I was ID'd." Erin's face is frozen in shock. She doesn't know what to think. "Dana Williams, from down the hall. She told the officers on the scene that I did it."

"I don't understand, why… why would she say that?"

"She saw the offender leave. She only saw him from behind, but she said it looked like me."

"They can't suspend you for that. It's unfair. They can't-"

"Honestly, I don't care anymore. Right now, I just want to be here. I wanna be with you." He holds her hand tighter, with both hands now. "They're gonna get him."

* * *

Ethan Morrison, sits in the cage, his hands tied behind his back, ashamed and with a black eye, courtesy of Atwater's rage. Olinsky is staring him down, almost as if he's making sure he doesn't go anywhere… as if he possibly could.

The steel door opens suddenly, startling Ethan. Voight slowly makes his way over, his presence alone very frightening. He comes face to face with the detective, wondering how one of their own would be capable of something like this. He stays quiet, trying to put the fear of God in him. But this doesn't last long.

"You know what I don't understand?" Voight asks, pulling the keys to the cage door out of his pocket. "Is why you didn't just finish her off when you had the chance." He inches closer, turning the key in the lock. He swings the doors of the cage open, somehow barely moving an inch. Ethan is really nervous now. He tries to muster up the courage to look Voight in the eyes. "What, you get cold feet or something?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Ethan says, through shallow breath, trying to look tough.

"See, I figured you'd say something like that." Voight gestures for Olinsky to open the door to the other room. When he does, Atwater enters the room, with Adrian, who is handcuffed.

"Adrian?" Ethan says, standing now, afraid for his brother.

"Ethan? What's going on?" The frightened businessman asks.

"Don't say a word, alright?"

"That's not very good advice." Olinsky says, grinning. Atwater grabs a car battery from a corner in the room, with a set of jumper cables. He gently pushes Adrian toward the wall.

"What are you doing?" Ethan asks.

"That's not your concern." Olinsky responds.

As Atwater approaches Adrian with the jumper cables, he begins to panic. "Ethan?! What did you do?" Atwater is dangerously close now.

"I didn't hurt that cop!" Ethan screams.

"Someone's singing a different tune." Olinsky says.

"You pay someone else to do it for you?" Voight asks.

"No, no!" Atwater inches closer to the detective's brother anyway. "No, God, I just drove, I swear! I didn't know what he was going to do! I didn't think he was going to hurt her."

"Who?" Voight asks, knowing he's so close to the truth now.

"I don't know his name! A CI of mine was shaking me down because he found out I was dipping into the money we'd collect on raids. My son has medical bills, I didn't know what else to do. He had me on a wire, was gonna report me to my sergeant. He said he'd let it slide if I did his friend a favor. All he wanted me to do was pick him up, take him to that apartment and drive him back. I thought he was going to case the place. I didn't know what he was going to do, I swear!"

"Where'd you pick him up?"

"An old stash house off Calumet. S-Some guy there called him 'Risk', but I don't know his real name."

"Why'd you shoot at us?" Olinsky asks.

"I thought he was coming after me. I panicked. When I found out what he did, I told him I was gonna turn him in, that I didn't care if my sergeant found out. But he threatened to kill me. Kill my family…" Ethan starts to get choked up. "No one was supposed to get hurt."

"We're gonna need the name of your CI." Voight says.

"Jason Fillmore."

"Alright, Kevin, you can let him go. Al, take Ethan over to holding. And give the sergeant at the 15th a call. I'm gonna pay Jason Fillmore a visit."

* * *

There's a knock at the door. Jason Fillmore blindly opens it. Voight pushes his way in, pinning Jason against the wall by his throat.

"Hank Voight." Jason laughs. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"You put out a hit on one of my cops?" Voight pushes hard.

"You think I've got that kind of leverage?" He chuckles. "All I did was ask Detective Morrison to me a little favor. He happily obliged. Turns out all the cops in Chicago are crooked." He grins.

Voight takes Jason by the shoulders now and slams him to the floor. Jason just laughs. "You keep pushing me, you won't be laughing like that for long." He pauses for a moment. "Where's Risk?" Jason chuckles again. "You wanna jam up an honest cop, use his plight as bait and then get someone else to do your dirty work? I think that makes you a coward."

"No. That makes me smart." He answers with a grin. Voight picks Jason back up, puts his arm around his neck, and puts his gun to Jason's temple.

"You did time in Stateville, that right? I spent some time there myself. Now, believe me when I tell you… if you don't tell me what I wanna know… You're gonna wish you never got out." Jason struggles for air, choking, his grin no longer present. "Where's Risk?"

* * *

"Apartment 12B." Voight commands as the entire unit (sans Linstead), makes their way over. "This guy knows we're looking for him. He won't hesitate to shoot, I don't expect any of you to do the same. This is the guy who came after us. If he tries anything, take him out."

"There's civilians all over." Antonio says, co-commanding. "Be on the lookout."

"Let's roll." Voight says.

Just as the team make their way forward, shots start going off in every direction. It sounds like it could be a machine gun. They all quickly take cover behind their vehicles.

"10-1, shots fired at the police!" Antonio radios in. "Requesting immediate backup at 1421 North Ashland!" He turns to Ruzek and Atwater. "Take the back! We'll cover you!" He shouts to them. They agree, firing off rounds as they try to get to cover on the other side of the building.

The shooter jumps from his window down two floors, making his way down the stairs, as he continues to fire off shots, but he's limping. There's a bandage around his knee. Voight knows, without a doubt, that this is the guy. He doesn't hesitate and makes a rush for the shooter. He tries to avoid his shots, but Voight manages to get a shot at him, in his right shoulder. The shooter falls forward, off the balcony and lands several stories down onto the ground, the fall instantly killing him.

The team make their way over to inspect the body. Tattooed on the shooter's neck is the word "Risk". They finally got him.

"I'll notify the crime lab." Olinsky says, in his own way, officially at peace with everything, knowing they got him. Voight on the other hand, doesn't feel like he got the revenge he wanted.

* * *

"All right… thanks, Ruzek." Jay hangs up the phone and turns back to Erin. "They, uh, they got him."

"Is he…?" Erin asks, only imagining how things must've turned out.

"… Yeah." They never did find out why he did it. That's the worst thing. Maybe he had a grudge against the CPD, or maybe he was just twisted. Either way, that's not something they could comfortably sleep at night not knowing.

Erin turns her head from Jay, looking up at the ceiling. "Somehow that doesn't feel like justice." She says, with a frown. She swallows hard, trying to accept the reality of everything.

"Hey…" Jay sits down next to her, holding her hand. She looks to him, holding back tears. "This guy tried to kill you. He's not gonna get to hurt anyone again. That sounds like justice to me." Erin looks away from Jay again, now, letting her emotions out, sobbing. Jay stands up and kisses Erin on the forehead. "It's okay." He whispers. "It's over."

* * *

 **Author's note:** Woo-hoo! You made it! How was it? Did you get a little car sick? It's okay, it's over now (as Jay just said). I'd love to know what you thought of this story. If you've read either of my previous stories, let me know if you'd like me to keep doing longer stories like this, or if you'd prefer shorter one-shots. Also, if you want the longer stories, let me know if you'd prefer them in chapters or all at once like this. I'd love to know your guys' thoughts and get some feedback. Hit me up with any suggestions for future stories; I'd be more than happy to consider them! Thanks so much for reading! (Also, now that you've read all the way through, which title did you like the best?)


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